The Gardener
Evangelist Ethan Elms 12/21/2025
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50:27
Summary
Evangelist Ethan Elms explores the beautiful mystery of Mary Magdalene mistaking the risen Christ for a gardener, revealing that Jesus is indeed the Gardener of our souls who prunes us with a jealous love to ensure our fruitfulness. The sermon moves from the wreckage of the empty tomb to the intimacy of a personal relationship with a God who knows our names.
Key points
- •The resurrection is recognized first through relationship, not just physical sight. Mary Magdalene did not recognize Jesus until He spoke her name, reminding her of their personal history.
- •Mary's assumption that Jesus was 'the gardener' was actually a profound theological truth. From the Garden of Eden to Gethsemane to the garden tomb, God has always used garden imagery to signify presence, intimacy, and cultivation.
- •There is a distinction between 'farming language' and 'gardening language' in Scripture. Farming represents the mass harvest of salvation for all, while gardening represents the individual, meticulous care and pruning God performs in the life of a believer.
- •Pruning and boundaries are expressions of God's 'jealous love.' He removes things not to punish us, but to make us more fruitful and to protect our hearts from 'lil foxes' that spoil the vine.
Scripture
Restoration
Intimacy with God
The Resurrection
Spiritual Growth
Life application
When you experience the 'pruning' of lost relationships or difficult seasons this week, trust that the Gardener is working for your fruitfulness. Instead of resisting God's boundaries, view them as a hedge of protection meant to keep the world's influence out of your personal walk with Him.
Reflection questions
- In what ways have you mistaken Jesus for a stranger because He didn't appear in the way or timing you expected?
- What is something in your life currently that feels like painful pruning, and how might the Gardener be using it for future growth?
- How does the image of God as a gardener who gets His hands 'dirty' in the soil of your life change how you view His intimacy with you?
- Are there 'weeds' or 'little foxes' you have allowed into your garden that God is asking you to let Him remove today?
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Full transcript
0:00it's an incredible thing. Anything great
0:00I am, it's because they're in my life. I
0:00want to speak to you on the subject
0:01today. The gardener. The gardener. Will
0:05you pray over the service with me? Lord,
0:06I thank you that you're already here. I
0:10thank you for your strong presence we
0:13feel in this place. [music] You are
0:15everything we saying that you are. You
0:18are everything this word says you are.
0:20You are everything I need and more.
0:23Lord, I ask that you'd anoint me as your
0:25vessel to preach your word, to speak the
0:28truth, the whole truth, and nothing but
0:30the truth. And let it be as it was in
0:32Acts 10. While I yet speak these words,
0:35let the Holy Ghost fall. Oh Lord God,
0:39reach Lord Jesus today for every hurting
0:42individual
0:44that they would find restoration and
0:46healing and peace and love within the
0:48Father's arms. In Jesus name I pray. And
0:52everybody said, "Amen."
0:54You may be seated as I take a drink of
0:57this water.
1:04I spilled it all over myself.
1:09Too much adrenaline. I squeeze too hard.
1:11These stubborn caps are so thin these
1:13days.
1:15Um, in our in our text that we read
1:18today, let me get a second to dry this
1:20off. In our text that we read today, we
1:23see that Mary Magdalene is is weeping at
1:27the tomb of Jesus. Now, he's not there.
1:30That's kind of the whole point of the
1:32Bible. He's not there, but she's weeping
1:34because she doesn't know where he is.
1:37She's already alerted Peter and John.
1:40She's gotten their attention. They ran.
1:42They had a little uh race, if you will,
1:45to get up towards the front and and
1:47Peter lost in the race, but crossed the
1:49finish line first. It's it's possible to
1:51do that. But they they finally got
1:54there. They don't know what it is. So,
1:56they leave. Peter and John are gone, but
1:59Mary is still there. Just like the other
2:03times when all the disciples fled, but
2:05Mary was still there.
2:08Mary, however, can't find it within
2:10herself to leave. And it may have to do
2:13with the fact that when Peter and John
2:16first met Jesus, they were just
2:18fishermen. And fishermen weren't, you
2:20know, the high priests. They weren't the
2:22elites of society, but at least they
2:24were welcomed and a part of society. But
2:27Mary Magdalene, first time she ran into
2:29Jesus. She was, the scripture says,
2:31possessed with seven evil spirits. And
2:34there's no place for the possessed
2:35within society. So there's a difference
2:38in the tenderness of your heart when he
2:41calls you from fishing fish to being
2:43fishers of men and when he calls you out
2:46of the very depths of hell.
2:48>> Calls you to be a new person again. Mary
2:51was different.
2:53She had been released from too great a
2:56burden to walk away from that empty tomb
2:58so quickly. But her world had completely
3:02collapsed around her. The one that she
3:04followed, the one she trusted, the one
3:06that she loved was gone. And she did not
3:09know where he was. The future she
3:13imagined had ended in in silence and and
3:16stone.
3:17But her heartbreak is so great that even
3:21when the angels speak to her, she
3:24doesn't even flinch. She just answers.
3:27I would not do that. I always wanted to
3:30see an angel as a kid and frankly today.
3:33>> I remember so strongly by probably
3:36because it was like a month ago. But
3:37when you you're praying
3:40and you say, "Lord,
3:42when I open my eyes,
3:46I'm going to see Michael. He's going to
3:47be so tall his head won't fit in the
3:49building. I'll just see his shoes to his
3:51shoulders. But God, I'm going to see
3:52Michael the Archangel. And And when you
3:54when you let go, you squeezed your eyes
3:57so hard that it's black for the first 30
3:59seconds. And then it kind of speckles
4:02back in and you see no angel. And it's
4:05disappointing because I've done it over
4:07and over again. And I will do it again
4:11>> until I get that experience. I just
4:14wanted to be the guy that said he saw an
4:15angel and be really like fake humble
4:17about it.
4:21But maybe that's why I haven't seen one
4:23yet.
4:27Mary isn't moved when the angels speak
4:30to her. It gives us a little bit of of
4:32of a notice to just how deep her grief
4:36is that she's weeping to the point that
4:39angels become normal.
4:42They're speaking to her and and they ask
4:44her, "Why do you weep?" And she simply
4:47answers, "I don't know where they've
4:49taken Jesus." Now, there's a desperation
4:52behind that word they. And it's
4:55captivating in itself.
4:57My professor said something along these
5:00lines one time. They is this mysterious
5:03force responsible for the pain yet
5:06without a clear identity.
5:08After her husband was assassinated,
5:10Jackie Kennedy is quoted as saying,
5:12"They shot him. They shot him." Who's
5:15the they? It doesn't matter. It's just
5:17this this this
5:19word you can say to describe whatever
5:22the hurt is. I can put an identity in
5:24it. I might not know the face or the
5:25name, but they did it.
5:28>> So, we see her answer to the angels in
5:32verse 13.
5:34Because they have taken away my Lord,
5:37>> right? and I know not where they have
5:40laid him. But watch what happens next in
5:43verse 14. And when she had said thus,
5:47she turned herself back and saw Jesus
5:51standing,
5:53but didn't know who it was.
5:56While she weeps, the whole time she's
5:58weeping, Jesus is standing there. The
6:02resurrection has already happened.
6:04>> Death has already been defeated. The
6:07miracle has already taken place, but
6:10Mary doesn't recognize him. The Bible
6:13says that she supposed him to be the
6:17gardener. That that's that's an
6:18interesting detail that we can't skip
6:20over.
6:21>> John didn't really have to put that
6:23detail in there, but the Holy Ghost, it
6:25doesn't waste ink when it puts in these
6:28little nuances. It's on to us to to kind
6:30of dig in and see why it's there. Right.
6:33>> And when I was reading this a while
6:35back, I felt that Holy Ghost nudge to
6:38kind of dig in. What did she mean by the
6:40gardener? I don't know how the Lord
6:42speaks to you. He may speak to you in an
6:45audible voice and thunder from a cloud.
6:48We've already established I wish he
6:50would.
6:51I I was so desperate as a kid to have,
6:54you know, those really cool supernatural
6:56stories. I wanted dreams that were like
7:00straight from heaven that I said it and
7:02that everybody knew the interpretation.
7:04So much so for a month straight
7:07every single night I ate a full bag of
7:09Flamin' Hot Cheetos before I went to bed
7:13cuz I know that spicy food gives you
7:15like vivid dreams.
7:17I did that. I I'm not even joking with
7:19you. Winter is my witness on this one
7:21because as a young kid, Winter and I
7:24shared a bedroom. Every night I heard
7:27one preacher preach on guardian angels
7:30and I thought that's sick. I've got an
7:32angel with me all the time and he looks
7:34like me. And uh so naturally I created a
7:39secret handshake that I would do every
7:42night in the air next to my bed. It was
7:45like a ba ba
7:47boom. Life explodes but God brings it
7:50back together. That was
7:52>> that was the ending.
7:54And maybe one day in heaven, I'm going
7:57to just know him and be like, "What's
7:58up dude?"
8:02And everybody else is not going to know
8:03who their angels are, but we're going to
8:04be on like a on a secret handshake
8:06basis.
8:08But I've learned God doesn't speak to me
8:10audibly. I don't think I've ever heard
8:13the voice of God audibly. I've heard it
8:15strongly in my mind, but it's really
8:17just a a nudge.
8:19>> It's a nudge in my spirit. It's it's
8:21sometimes even a thought that sounds
8:23like me. So, what I do is and what you
8:26should do is anytime you feel like God
8:28spoke to you, pray about it and then go
8:31to the scriptures.
8:32>> If it lines up, it's from God. But
8:34hell's not going to send you something
8:36that checks out with the scriptures.
8:39[applause]
8:41>> But when God gives you that nudge, it's
8:43all you need.
8:45All you need is for God to say
8:46something. And when God says something,
8:48it's already done. Yeah.
8:50>> This is why Peter doesn't say, "Lord, if
8:52it's you, let me go out on the water,
8:54too." Cuz then it's his will being
8:56forced on God. But he said, "Jesus, if
8:58it's you on the water, bid me to come
9:01out, too. BECAUSE LORD, I KNOW IF YOU
9:04ASK ME TO do it, I can do it. IF IT'S A
9:07HUGE THING, IT DOESN'T MATTER. IF YOU'RE
9:09ASKING me to do it, I CAN DO IT. GOD,
9:12YOU PUT A NUMBER ON MY HEART TO GIVE. IF
9:14YOU ASK ME TO DO IT, IT'S GOING TO
9:16HAPPEN. GOD, YOU GIVE ME A PERSON TO
9:19REACH THIS UPCOMING YEAR. IF YOU PUT IT
9:21ON MY HEART, IT'S ALREADY DONE.
9:26>> IF GOD GIVES IT, NO MAN CAN TAKE it
9:28away.
9:30>> See, Holy Ghost nudges. God doesn't
9:33always have to speak in the wind or in
9:35the earthquake or in the fire. Sometimes
9:38it's just a still small voice and that's
9:40all you need.
9:41>> You'll lean out and step into it. But
9:43when I saw this detail and felt that
9:46nudge,
9:47why a gardener?
9:50Well obviously
9:52she's in the garden. So, she thought it
9:54was just one of the the guys that works
9:56here. The grave is in the garden. She
9:59she mistakes the savior, the risen
10:01savior at that, not for a king or for a
10:04general or for a soldier, not a priest,
10:08>> but for a gardener,
10:10>> a humble servant. And the longer you sit
10:14with it, the more you realize she wasn't
10:16wrong.
10:18>> She just didn't know what kind of
10:19gardener that he was.
10:23>> Jesus asks her a question already
10:25knowing THE ANSWER. HE SAYS,"WOMAN, why
10:28weepest thou? Whom seekest thou? Why are
10:32you weeping? And who are you seeking?"
10:34>> Yes.
10:35>> She answers him honestly but blindly
10:39because she doesn't know who she's
10:41looking at.
10:42And Jesus changes everything because he
10:44he doesn't he doesn't explain the
10:47theology of what she thinks.
10:50He doesn't reveal his wounds. He doesn't
10:54show himself to be this great uh
10:57meticulous general. No, instead he
11:00simply speaks her name. He just says
11:05Mary.
11:07>> And that's all it takes.
11:10That's all it takes. In in that moment,
11:12recognition floods in her soul because
11:16resurrection is not recognized first by
11:19sight. It is recognized by relationship.
11:23He did NOT HAVE TO SHOW HER THE PIERCED
11:26hands and feet for her to know that he
11:28was Jesus.
11:30>> ALL HE HAD TO do was say, "Mary."
11:34She was immediately transported back to
11:36the day when the demons were plaguing
11:38her mind and she heard that same name
11:41spoken over her.
11:43>> Mary.
11:44>> Mary. Mary.
11:46>> All it takes is for him to know who you
11:48are.
11:50>> Even when you don't know who he is.
11:53>> AND THAT IS MY HOPE TODAY. YOU MAY NOT
11:56KNOW HIM VERY WELL. YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW
11:59HIM AS THE WONDERFUL COUNSELOR Isaiah
12:01tells us to be. YOU MAY NOT KNOW HIM AS
12:03THIS EVERLASTING FATHER AS IS
12:05PROPHESIED. BUT HE KNOWS YOU. HE KNOWS
12:08YOUR EVERY THOUGHT. HE KNOWS EVERY HAIR
12:11ON YOUR HEAD. BEFORE YOU WERE BORN, HE
12:13KNEW YOU IN the womb and ordained you.
12:18He knows who you are. And that's your
12:21hope today.
12:23>> It's not that your relationship with him
12:25has to be perfect. We'll get there. But
12:27right now, you just have to understand
12:29his relationship with you. Yes.
12:32>> And sometimes it goes that Jesus is
12:34closer than we realize.
12:38>> But we miss him because he doesn't look
12:41how we expect him to look.
12:44>> We expected him to look like strength.
12:47>> But he comes in humility.
12:49>> We expect him to look like relief, but
12:52he he shows himself up through loss.
12:54>> Yes.
12:55>> We expect that he should look like the
12:57end of suffering. Instead, we find him
13:00in the midst of it.
13:02>> We miss Jesus because we don't expect
13:06him to look like how he looks.
13:09>> And this is what we celebrate in this
13:11Christmas season.
13:12>> The Pharisees thought that the Messiah
13:14would come like a high priest.
13:16>> Yeah.
13:16>> And and and some of the Jews, the
13:18Zealots thought that he would come as
13:20this general to throw Rome into the
13:23dirt. AND THE ROMANS THOUGHT that he
13:24would look like them. And instead, he
13:26comes as a baby born in a manger wrapped
13:29in swaddling cloth.
13:32>> He doesn't come the way we expect him to
13:34come. The creator of the universe, he he
13:37made himself of no reputation.
13:40A baby born in a manger. She missed him.
13:43She missed the resurrection.
13:46At least what happened. She went up, you
13:48know, after she died to heaven in Jesus
13:50name. But she missed Jesus resurrected
13:53>> because she didn't expect him to look
13:55like the gardener.
13:57>> So the question is why a gardener?
14:00There's a reason why she mistakes Jesus
14:03as the gardener. Gardens are are places
14:05of presence. When you're standing in a
14:08beautiful garden, it seems like the sun
14:10shines brighter. There's a reason Sophia
14:12and I and a gazillion other couples got
14:15their pictures at Viskaya. It's because
14:17the garden's beautiful. Even rainy days
14:19seem all right in a flower garden
14:21>> because you know something's happening
14:23with that rain. Half of the beauty of
14:25walking around Disney World is seeing
14:26how they make flowers look like mouse
14:28ears.
14:31It's just beautiful to see the colors.
14:33There's there's something special about
14:35gardens. You don't rush through them.
14:37You you walk through them.
14:39>> You don't shout in gardens. You listen.
14:43Gardens are special places. You don't
14:45manage gardens from a distance. Instead,
14:47you get down on your knees and you get
14:49your hands into the dirt.
14:52>> And when you trace through all of
14:54scripture, you see garden moments.
14:59>> In fact, the beginning of the book
15:00starts with a garden.
15:02>> And we've read the back of the book and
15:04we know we win. And it ends with that
15:07same garden restored. In the midst of it
15:09is the tree of life, the leaves of which
15:12are for the healing of the nations. You
15:14can see this theme throughout the
15:16scriptures. It's pretty safe to say it's
15:19a doctrine if you can see it in Genesis
15:21and carry it through all the way to
15:23Revelation.
15:24>> And this is something we see it. It's
15:26gardens over and over again. God makes
15:29the world with his words. He speaks,
15:32"Let there be light and there's light."
15:34He speaks to the waters to divide from
15:36the firmament. And it's so he he says,
15:38"Let there be a lesser light. We'll call
15:40it the moon. Let there be a light called
15:42the sun." Because in the beginning when
15:43God created the heavens and the earth
15:45and he said let there be light. He
15:46hadn't created the sun yet. Why is that?
15:49Because he is that light.
15:52>> That same word in the Hebrew is I am.
15:55Let there be I am. HE IS THE LIGHT.
15:57THAT'S WHY AT THE beginning of the
15:59things it's that. And at the end of
16:01things IN REVELATION THERE IS NO SUN IN
16:03THAT SACRED CITY there's no need for a
16:05sun BECAUSE IN THAT CITY THE LAMB is the
16:08light. [cheering]
16:11>> [screaming]
16:14>> Yes, sir.
16:15>> He speaks the words and it happens. It's
16:17just what happens. God says it, it's
16:19done.
16:21>> He speaks. He speaks. He speaks. And
16:25then it comes time to make you and I.
16:28And instead of speaking,
16:31he gets his hands dirty and he gets down
16:34into the soil and he begins to shape it.
16:37He molds it. And the Bible says he made
16:40man in his image.
16:43>> We looked just like him. And so when he
16:47makes them in his image, it says that he
16:49formed God, a man of the dust of the
16:51earth and breathed into his nostrils the
16:52breath of life and man became a living
16:54soul. And and once that happens, what
16:56does man look like?
16:59A gardener.
17:01He tells Adam in Genesis 28 and verse
17:0415, "And the Lord God planted a garden
17:07eastward in Eden, and there he put the
17:09man whom he had formed." Verse 15, "And
17:11the Lord God took the man and put him in
17:13the garden of Eden to dress it and to
17:17keep it." It's the foundation of it all.
17:19It's the beginning of all things. God
17:21makes man in his image. And what does
17:23man look like? He looks like a gardener.
17:26>> And what does she think Jesus is when he
17:28raises from the grave? SHE THINKS HE'S A
17:30GARDENER.
17:32>> Before there was sin, before there was
17:34law, before there was sacrifices, there
17:36was walking together in the garden.
17:40>> And God didn't shout commands from
17:43heaven. He walked with Adam in the cool
17:45of the day.
17:46>> That's right.
17:47>> Eden was this intimate fellowship with
17:49God. And when sin shattered that
17:51intimacy, God never stopped trying to
17:54restore it.
17:56>> This is why that garden language
17:59shows up again and again and again. And
18:02I want to tell you, if you just looked
18:04up the word garden in some kind of bib
18:06Bible software, biblical software, Bible
18:09software, and each time it says the word
18:11garden, you read the chapter before,
18:13that chapter, and the chapter after,
18:15you'd pretty much know what salvation
18:17means. Because every time there's a
18:18garden,
18:19>> there's something God's trying to tell
18:21his people.
18:23>> We keep following it. We see it pop up
18:25in Song of Solomon. Now, I'm I'm going
18:28to pump the brakes on that. Song of
18:31Solomon is one of those books. I
18:32understand the middle schoolers are in
18:33here, so maybe parents, I'm not saying
18:36it's the best advice, but maybe staple
18:38that book shut for a few years.
18:43Song of Solomon, it's a it's a it really
18:45is a beautiful book. It's a poem, and
18:47it's its first meaning is to define and
18:50to show and give an example of what a
18:52good marriage is to look like. love
18:55between a husband and a wife that nobody
18:57else can affect and change and and and
19:00attack. No matter how many things come
19:02against their love for one another,
19:04their love grows stronger and it and it
19:06grows deep and and it's a little rated
19:08R.
19:10>> Except it's not when it's holy
19:11matrimony.
19:12>> And that's the example. But but it also
19:15gives this description of how much Jesus
19:19loves his bride.
19:21And all throughout Song of Solomon, you
19:24see these garden themes stacking up.
19:27It's poetic. It's delicate. It's
19:29careful. It's love restored. Just like
19:32Eden,
19:33restored and enjoyed. It is a
19:35conversation between a man and his woman
19:38and all the outsiders who are looking in
19:39on their relationship.
19:41The beloved is described as a garden
19:45enclosed, a place of delight, a place
19:48cultivated with intention. And the
19:50imagery brings us back to Genesis again,
19:53back to Eden, towards intimacy regained,
19:57love without fear, beauty without shame.
19:59It is a beautiful song
20:03and many follow this path of gardens.
20:06And if you follow it long enough, you'll
20:09come to a pivotal point in this Bible
20:12story.
20:14It's the garden that changes everything.
20:16It is the center point that brings
20:19everything that's run away from Genesis
20:22back towards Revelation. It's a garden
20:25smack dab in the middle of human
20:27history. It's just garden called
20:30Gethsemane.
20:32And it's here in this garden that love
20:34itself submits. It's the anchor point of
20:38it all. the future garden scenes will
20:40look back at this scene and understand
20:43IT'S BECAUSE OF THAT
20:45>> that we can have this.
20:48>> But this is a different one. It's not
20:50pleasant. It's painful. It's it's not
20:53the roses. It's the thorns.
20:57>> Jesus is speaking and he's about to go
20:59into this garden. Matthew 26
21:02and says, "Then cometh Jesus with them
21:04unto a place called Gethsemane,
21:07>> and saith unto his disciples, sit ye
21:09here while I go and pray yonder."
21:13And he took with him Peter and the two
21:15sons of Zebedee. And began to be
21:18sorrowful
21:20and very heavy.
21:23Gardens don't make YOU DO THAT. WHAT'S
21:25DIFFERENT ABOUT this garden?
21:27Then saith he unto them, "My soul is
21:30exceedingly sorrowful,
21:32even unto death."
21:35And they didn't know how literally he
21:37meant those words,
21:40"Tear ye here and watch with me." And he
21:44went a little further
21:46and fell on his face and prayed, saying,
21:49Oh my father, if it be possible,
21:54let this cup pass from me.
21:58Nevertheless,
22:01>> nevertheless,
22:03not my will,
22:05but as thou wilt.
22:07This single prayer would lead to the
22:09salvation
22:11of the world. In fact, I've heard it
22:13said that because this one prayer wasn't
22:15answered, every other prayer could be.
22:18>> Yes.
22:19>> If it be possible,
22:22>> take this cup from me.
22:25But Jesus was facing something no one
22:27has ever faced on this earth before.
22:30Being completely desolate from God, we
22:35hid, as it were, our faces from him. We
22:37did esteem him stricken and smitten of
22:40God and afflicted. It pleased God to
22:42bruise him.
22:44>> It's this prayer.
22:46>> He's about to take on the sins of the
22:49world.
22:50>> If it be possible, let this cup pass
22:52from me.
22:54but never the less.
22:57>> Or I could also say always the more. Not
23:02my will but thine be done.
23:05>> Gardens are for fellowship and for
23:07beauty. And yes, they're for communion,
23:10but even more so, gardens, they're where
23:14submission happens.
23:17Gardens are where the pruning, the
23:19cutting away, the editing, the the
23:22plucking up of the weeds, they they
23:24hurt, BUT IT'S WHERE OBEDIENCE COSTS
23:27something
23:29>> because Jesus is surrendered in the
23:31garden. Resurrection is possible in the
23:35next one, which brings us back to where
23:37we began, a garden in the midst of a
23:41grave site. Mary sees Jesus, but she
23:44doesn't recognize him. She supposes him
23:46to be the gardener. And in a way, she's
23:48seeing more truth than she even
23:50realized. Because after Eden,
23:54after Solomon's song, after Gethsemane,
23:57here stands the gardener again, this
24:01time with nail scars in his hands. And
24:04if we're going to grab hold of the
24:06intimacy of the garden, we need to first
24:09understand the interesting and important
24:11contrast in the scriptures. Because when
24:14the scriptures talk about salvation,
24:17it's not garden language. It's farming
24:20language.
24:22There's a distinct uh line that there is
24:25there. It's not a line that separates.
24:27It's a line that invites.
24:29God's desire is for all to be saved.
24:32He's not slack concerning his promise,
24:34as some count slackness, but is
24:36long-suffering towards us. Not willing
24:38that any should perish, but that all
24:40should come to repentance.
24:42We see in John 4:35, Jesus says, "Say
24:46not unto ye, there are yet four months,
24:49and then cometh the harvest. Behold, I
24:52say unto you, lift up your eyes
24:55>> and look on the fields,
24:57>> for they are white already to harvest."
25:02Furthermore, in Matthew 9, but when he
25:05saw the multitude, he was moved with
25:07compassion on them because they fainted
25:11and were scattered abroad as sheep
25:14having no shepherd. Then saith he unto
25:17his disciples.
25:20The harvest truly is plentous,
25:23but the laborers are few.
25:27Pray ye therefore the Lord of the
25:28harvest that he will send forth laborers
25:31into the harvest.
25:34God's desire is that all men should be
25:36saved. That all MEN SHOULD COME TO THE
25:39KNOWLEDGE of the truth. This is the
25:42farmer's heart. No one LEFT BEHIND.
25:45EVERY CROP HARVESTED. EVERY SINGLE
25:48REVIVAL BROUGHT BACK INTO THE
25:50STOREHOUSE. This is the way that he
25:53SPEAKS ABOUT IT. THE GRACE OF GOD HATH
25:55APPEARED UNTO ALL MEN.
25:59>> It's farming language.
26:01And you may not know what it feels like
26:04to be pulled up in that harvest.
26:07>> You may not know what the the the joy is
26:09when you know for a fact through an
26:13avenue called repentance, your sin has
26:16been washed away and forgiven by blood.
26:19You know for A FACT WHEN YOU GET
26:21BAPTIZED in the name of the Lord Jesus
26:24Christ, you have YOUR SINS REMITTED. NOT
26:27FORGIVEN, REMOVED. MORE THAN JUST
26:29FORGIVEN, REMITTED. MORE THAN just seen,
26:32ACKNOWLEDGED AND FORGOTTEN. NO. STROKE
26:35THROUGH WITH A PEN WITH THE ink of BLOOD
26:37OF JESUS CHRIST. THEY ARE COMPLETELY
26:40REMOVED. THERE'S NOTHING LIKE THAT
26:42EXPERIENCE. And I want TO TELL YOU
26:44THERE'S MORE. CUZ IF YOU'VE BEEN
26:45BAPTIZED, BUT YOU HAVEN'T RECEIVED THE
26:48SPIRIT, THERE'S nothing like it. THERE'S
26:51NOTHING like the joy when you know I am
26:53his AND HE IS MINE. THAT'S THAT SONG OF
26:56SOLOMON language again. He is the
26:58sweetest lily in the valley. He's a lily
27:01amongst the thorns. I am his and he is
27:04mine.
27:05>> He dwells IN MY HEART. HOW DO I KNOW?
27:07I'VE GOT THE EVIDENCE. I get to speak in
27:09a language I've never spoken.
27:12>> And I get to do it every day. And I
27:14don't have to care what people think.
27:16LET THEM SEARCH FOR JOY AND EMPTY
27:18THINGS. I'M GOING TO THE CUP THAT DOES
27:20NOT RUN DRY. I'M GOING TO THE WELL
27:22THAT'S springing up out of me.
27:28>> Salvation has appeared to all men.
27:32>> It's the farming words. It's it's it's
27:34that everybody gets a hold of this. It's
27:37the same for everybody.
27:40It's just a whole thing.
27:43But it's just that one thing. Salvation,
27:46it's not the end.
27:48Salvation is the gate. Yes.
27:52>> The garden is after
27:54>> once you walk through that door of
27:56salvation, you you step into a garden
28:00>> where the flowers blossom, where the sun
28:03shines, where the fruit grows, where the
28:06honeybees bring nectar from one flower
28:08to THE OTHER, WHERE YOU GO THROUGH THE
28:11STAGES OF LIFE AND SOME OF THEM ARE
28:13GRIEVOUS AND SOME of them are hurting.
28:15But you know where you are. Yes.
28:18>> Salvation is just the gate.
28:20>> You know, you don't have to pray the
28:22same prayer of repentance every Sunday
28:24for the same sin.
28:27>> You can repent today and never turn to
28:29it again.
28:31>> You can be saved today by the waters of
28:34baptism and INFILLING OF THE HOLY GHOST
28:36AND YOU NEVER HAVE TO TURN BACK TO THAT
28:38LIFE AGAIN. YOU CAN STEP THROUGH THE
28:40GATE AND STAY IN THE GARDEN ALL OF YOUR
28:43LIFE. AND I WANT YOU TO KNOW AS WELL, IF
28:45YOU STRAYED FROM THE PATH THAT GATES
28:47HERE TODAY, YOU CAN STEP INTO THE
28:50GARDEN, SEE WHAT GOD'S BEEN DOING WHILE
28:52YOU'VE BEEN GONE. SEE THE FLOWERS HE'S
28:54BEEN GROWING IN YOUR ABSENCE. See the
28:56FRUIT HE'S RAISED UP WHILE YOU SOWED BAD
28:59SEED.
29:01HALLELUJAH.
29:04THERE IS SALVATION IN THE HOUSE TODAY.
29:07THERE IS FREEDOM FROM ADDICTION IN THE
29:09HOUSE TODAY. THERE IS RESTORATION FOR
29:12THE PRODIGAL IN THE HOUSE TODAY. THERE
29:14IS SALVATION IN YOUR MIND IN the house
29:17today.
29:21>> And there's more than that. There is the
29:24gardener.
29:26[snorts]
29:27Farmers focus on mass harvest.
29:30The gardeners, they do something
29:32different.
29:34They focus on care,
29:36on pruning, cutting away. I got to pluck
29:40up weeds here. I've got to got to cut
29:43this root out. They focus on beauty and
29:46and fruitfulness.
29:49This is what the late bishop uh Google
29:53told me
29:56the differences between a farmer and a
29:58gardener.
30:00The main difference between the two is
30:02scale and intention.
30:06A farmer operates on a large scale,
30:09often using many different tools. But
30:12the gardener works on a smaller scale
30:15like a backyard or maybe a community
30:18plot. Farmers focus on profit and large
30:22yields, while gardeners focus on variety
30:26and personal connection
30:28and experimentation, often by hand. The
30:32gardener enjoys its personal connection
30:35and the beauty that it brings.
30:39Salvation language often uses harvest
30:43imagery,
30:45but relationship language
30:48talks about this garden imagery.
30:51God is the Lord of the harvest,
30:54but he's also the father that walks in
30:56the garden.
30:58>> You can grab hold of this contrast
31:01today. And and one of the things we got
31:03to understand because when you are in
31:05the garden,
31:07he's going to cut some things away.
31:10>> That's true.
31:11>> And if you're not in alignment with what
31:13the scripture says, if you don't
31:15understand how much he loves you, you'll
31:18think that the pain you feel is his
31:20disdain for you. But it's the exact
31:22opposite.
31:25>> He's not cutting away things because
31:27he's he's trying to punish you. No,
31:29>> he's trying to make you fruitful.
31:31Listen, listen to this garden language
31:33Jesus speaks in John 15. Says, "I am the
31:37true vine.
31:39>> My father is the husbandman.
31:41>> Every branch in me that beareth not
31:43fruit, he taketh AWAY. AND EVERY BRANCH
31:45THAT BEARETH FRUIT, he purgth it
31:50>> that it may bring forth
31:53>> more fruit."
31:55>> Now,
31:57he said, "Now," you got to understand
31:58that last sentence before you get to the
32:00now.
32:01He says, "Now you are clean through the
32:04word which I've spoken unto you. Abide
32:09>> in me
32:10[snorts] and I in you." I want to pause
32:15there and I want to tell you, you can
32:18find peace in Jesus when you have peace
32:21nowhere else. You can find restoration
32:24in Jesus when the doctor's report has
32:27stolen your mind. you can find it to
32:30abide within him because HE DOESN'T LET
32:33YOU JUST GRAB HOLD OF HIM LIKE A LEECH
32:35OR SOME KIND OF PARASITE. NO, HE SAYS,
32:38"ABIDE IN ME AND I WILL ABIDE IN YOU."
32:42>> THAT'S WHAT HE DOES FOR US.
32:45As the branch cannot bear fruit of
32:47itself except it abide in the vine, no
32:50more can ye except she abide in me. I am
32:53the vine.
32:55>> You are the branches.
32:58He that abideth in me and I in him, the
33:00same bringeth forth much fruit. For
33:04without me ye can do nothing.
33:08The gardener
33:10walks through the rose.
33:12He checks each plant individually. He
33:15brings out his scale. He weighs every
33:17fruit to see if it's growing, if it just
33:19looks pretty on the outside. He notices
33:21when the colors are changing within the
33:23fruit and it's beginning to be ripe, but
33:25it's not ready to be plucked yet. He
33:27sees when there's a little bit of weeds
33:29growing up under the surface and he has
33:31to pluck them out from the root. Not
33:33because the weed can't look beautiful,
33:35but because it is deceptive and it's
33:37come to destroy the plant,
33:41>> choke it out.
33:43Because of this, he is jealous.
33:48>> We let the scriptures decide what that
33:50word means, not us. Because human
33:53jealousy and God's jealousy, they are
33:55not
33:56>> the same.
33:58>> Let's read the text of Exodus 34 to get
34:01a little bit of a definition of what
34:03God's jealousy means.
34:06>> He said to the children of Israel, "Take
34:08heed to thyself, lest thou make a
34:11covenant with the inhabitants of the
34:13land where you go,
34:15lest it be for a snare in the midst of
34:17thee.
34:19But you shall destroy
34:21their altars,
34:23break the images of the false gods
34:25around you, cut down their groves.
34:30Those are gardens.
34:32>> DESTROY THEIR GARDENS,
34:36FOR THOU SHALT WORSHIP NO OTHER GOD.
34:40>> FOR THE LORD WHOSE NAME IS jealous
34:44>> is a jealous God.
34:46>> Yes, he is.
34:48You can read that if you've got the
34:50wrong lens on.
34:52>> You can read it in anger,
34:55but it's not anger.
34:57>> It is passion.
35:01>> THERE ARE PLACES SOPHIA DOESN'T WANT ME
35:03TO GO AND I REFUSE TO GO THERE BECAUSE I
35:07love her.
35:09>> He says, "WHEN YOU GO TO THE other land,
35:11I'm scared. I I TRUST YOU. BUT THEY ARE
35:16A SNARE over there.
35:18>> So when you get there, don't entertain
35:21THEIR IDOLS.
35:23>> DON'T WALK IN THEIR GARDENS.
35:26>> Don't look at the other things they've
35:27made with their hands. You shall serve
35:30no other god. It's not because he's
35:33limiting you. It's because he loves you
35:35and he knows he's jealous for you. It is
35:38not envious. It is not STUBBORN AND
35:40PRIDEFUL LIKE OUR KIND OF JEALOUSY. It
35:43is pure. He loves YOU WITH A JEALOUS
35:45LOVE BECAUSE HE KNOWS THOSE GODS CAN'T
35:48LOVE YOU LIKE HE LOVES YOU. THOSE GODS
35:51DIDN'T MAKE YOU LIKE HE MADE YOU. YOU
35:53DON'T LOOK LIKE THE IMAGE YOU CAN MAKE
35:55WITH YOUR HANDS. YOU LOOK LIKE THE IMAGE
35:57THAT WAS MADE IN HIS HANDS. [cheering]
36:03[applause]
36:04He loves you deeper than you can fathom.
36:08But you can grab hold of it anyway. I
36:11don't understand how great a love
36:13wherewith he loved me,
36:16but I know he loves me.
36:18>> I don't get why he loves me, but I'm so
36:22glad he loves me. I don't know why he
36:25loves me when he sees me fall the same
36:28fall over and over. But I know he loves
36:30me. I DON'T KNOW WHY HE FORGIVES ME TIME
36:33AND time again. But I know he LOVES ME.
36:36I SHOULD HAVE JUST GONE BACK TO MY
36:38FATHER'S HOUSE AS A SERVANT, BUT HE MET
36:41me in the middle AND HE RAN OUT AND
36:43GRABBED HOLD OF ME AND SAID, "MY SON HAS
36:46RETURNED. I DON'T KNOW WHY, BUT I DO
36:48KNOW HE LOVES ME.
36:54>> He loves you so deeply. He loves you in
36:57the way that every marriage should be.
36:59What's mine is yours. What's yours is
37:02mine."
37:04He says to his bride, "I see that you
37:07have some cares.
37:09But what mine is yours, what's yours is
37:11mine. So, how about this? Cast your
37:13cares on me.
37:15I'll care for you. What's mine is yours.
37:19What's yours is mine. I can see you in
37:21carrying a lot of weight. It's too heavy
37:23for you. So, how about you do this
37:25instead? Here, take my yoke upon you.
37:29Learn [laughter] of me
37:30>> for my yoke is easy
37:33>> and my burden is light. You feel like
37:36that burden you're carrying is crushing
37:37you. Maybe it's because it isn't God's
37:39burden.
37:41>> Because his yoke is easy and his burden
37:44is light. He says to his bride today,
37:48"WHAT'S MINE IS YOURS AND WHAT'S YOURS
37:50is mine. I can see you're weak. Let me
37:53take your weakness and GIVE YOU MY
37:55STRENGTH. I CAN SEE THAT YOU NEED
37:57HEALING HERE. TAKE MY STRIPES. BY MY
38:00STRIPES, YOU SHALL BE HEALED. WHAT'S
38:02MINE IS YOURS AND WHAT'S YOURS IS MINE.
38:06I KNOW YOU CAN'T REACH TO my level. So,
38:09what he did is he he he came down
38:12>> to our level. The almighty God manifest
38:15in flesh. He saw, "Oh, you've got
38:18temptation.
38:19I can take that." And he was tempted at
38:22all points like we are, yet without sin.
38:24His jealousy, his love is so great.
38:30Human jealousy says, "I'm afraid of
38:32losing."
38:33God says, "I'm afraid."
38:36In fact, no. I I refuse
38:39to let you waste yourself on dead idols.
38:43It's his great love
38:46that makes the pruning make sense.
38:49It's his great love that sets the
38:51boundaries, the fences, the walls that
38:54keep the garden safe. If we're not
38:57careful, we'll view the boundaries that
38:59the Bible puts in our life as a way to
39:02keep us from getting out. But that's not
39:03it. You don't want to go out there.
39:07>> You don't want to seek the answers out
39:08there.
39:09>> There's no peace like there's peace
39:11right here in the garden. This boundary
39:13is not to keep me from going out of the
39:15world. It's to keep the world FROM
39:17GETTING INTO MY GARDEN. I'M NOT GOING TO
39:19WATCH THAT. WHY? I'M SURE IT'S FUNNY,
39:21BUT I CAN'T LET THAT GET IN MY HOUSE.
39:23I'M NOT GOING TO SAY THAT. WHY? I'VE GOT
39:25CHILDREN WATCHING ME, AND I CAN'T LET
39:27THIS GET IN THEIR GARDEN.
39:31>> It's a JEALOUSY THAT SETS THE FRAMEWORK
39:33AROUND us
39:35>> and it keeps the, as the Song of Solomon
39:38said, that the the little foxes from
39:40coming in and spoiling the vines.
39:43break in.
39:45We find fault with God when we question
39:47his love for us. But if we could just
39:51have a revelation today of how much he
39:54loves us.
39:57No greater love hath a man than this,
40:01that a man would lay down his life for
40:04his friends.
40:07>> Song of Psalm chapter 8 verse 6.
40:11This is the the bride
40:13speaking to her beloved,
40:16"Set me as a seal upon thine heart,
40:21as a seal upon thine arm."
40:24She sings this song to her beloved. She
40:26says, "For love is strong as death.
40:31Jealousy is cruel as the grave,
40:35seemingly equal contenders,
40:38except for the next line. The coals
40:41thereof are coals of fire
40:44which hath a most vehement flame.
40:48Death and love they if they were
40:51fighters in a ring they would be an
40:54equal match.
40:56And and and if if if death had a coach
41:00fighting them on called grave, it would
41:03be equally as cruel as love's coach
41:06jealousy. They seem to be equals.
41:10Love is strong as death. Jealousy is
41:13cruel as the grave. But the difference
41:16is the fire within love.
41:19Says in verse seven, "Many waters cannot
41:23quench love. Neither can the floods
41:26drown it." If a man gave all the
41:28substance of his house for love, it
41:31wouldn't be enough.
41:33Couldn't purchase love. That's how great
41:36it is.
41:39Love does not avoid death.
41:42Love does not retreat from suffering. It
41:46does not abandon the beloved.
41:49DEATH THOUGHT THAT IT COULD rain
41:51undefeated.
41:53But death met its match in love. And
41:56coach Grave yelled out to death. He
41:58said, "Pin him down."
42:00>> But Coach Jealousy yelled out to love.
42:02He said, "Remember who you're fighting
42:04for."
42:06>> And so it goes.
42:08Death is swallowed up in victory.
42:11>> OH DEATH, where is thy sting? OH GRAVE,
42:16where is thy victory? The strength of
42:18sin is death. The strength of sin is the
42:21law. BUT THANKS BE TO GOD, WHICH GIVETH
42:23US THE VICTORY through Jesus Christ our
42:26Lord.
42:28[applause]
42:32>> I guess I probably should have drank all
42:33of it first.
42:37We need to test that 40-yard dash time,
42:39Pastor Alms, that was pretty quick.
42:42>> Love did not narrowly escape death. It
42:46defeated it.
42:48Love conquered the grave. Love did not
42:51shy away from the beating.
42:53>> Love took on the fight. I'm I'm
42:54finishing. Musicians, come. Love did not
42:57run from the fear. Perfect love casted
42:59it out. It was love made flesh that
43:03spoke those words in the garden of
43:04Gethsemane. Not my will but thy will be
43:08done. There is no greater love that a
43:10man can have than this kind of love.
43:13That he would lay down his life for his
43:16friends.
43:17And we feel as though God is against us
43:20when he's correcting us. When he walks
43:24through the garden of our life and he
43:26prunes and he he cuts away the branches
43:29he sees are withering. He cuts away
43:32relationships that you thought were
43:33healthy three years ago,
43:36>> but you're not seeing it, but it's
43:37withering.
43:39And then he cuts away pieces at you. And
43:43then HE HAS THE AUDACITY, IT SEEMS, TO
43:46GRAFT IN SOMETHING ELSE.
43:49Who is this foreign person you've
43:50brought into my life? God, I don't want
43:52to have anything to do with them. You
43:54know how patient I have to be every
43:55single Sunday waiting to bring them to
43:57church.
44:00Why did you choose to graft them into
44:01this garden?
44:03It seems like the pruning has no purpose
44:07when you don't understand the love.
44:11But when you look up from the weeping,
44:14when you've spoken to angels and they've
44:16changed nothing,
44:18and you see a man you don't recognize,
44:20you just see him as the gardener.
44:23If you will understand that's exactly
44:26who he is, you'll reach a relationship
44:29with Jesus you didn't think was possible
44:32when you were in your sin.
44:35You'll reach a depth of love with God
44:37when you choose not just to knock at the
44:40gate, but to walk through the gate of
44:43salvation,
44:44to walk with him in the cool of the day
44:47in the garden. You can miss out on Jesus
44:52if you thought that he'd look a certain
44:54way.
44:56>> Did you miss Jesus because you didn't
44:58think he'd look like the loss of a
45:00family member?
45:03Did you miss out on Jesus because you
45:05didn't think he'd sound like silence?
45:08Did you miss out on Jesus because you
45:11didn't think he would come through
45:13suffering, but he did
45:15because he came camouflaged as
45:17loneliness?
45:21Today, Jesus is not saying fix yourself
45:24or explain yourself.
45:27He's just saying walk with me.
45:30Walk with me in the pruning.
45:33Walk with me in the waiting.
45:36Walk with me in the loss.
45:39Walk with me into fruitfulness.
45:44If you'd all stand with me today,
45:53I come to
45:56the garden alone
46:00where the D
46:03still on the ro
46:09and the voice
46:11I hear.
46:14falling on my ear.
46:19The son
46:22of God
46:24discloses
46:26[screaming]
46:28and he walks
46:32with me and he talks
46:37with me
46:39and he
46:42>> tells me I am.
46:47>> Feel that.
46:49And the joy [singing]
46:52we share
46:55as we tear [singing]
46:57we there
47:01[music] another
47:04has ever
47:07has ever known.
47:11The second verse says, I stay
47:15in the garden [singing]
47:18with him
47:23while the night
47:26around [singing and music] me is
47:29falling.
47:34But he bids
47:36me go
47:39through his voice
47:41of [singing] a wall.
47:45His voice
47:47to me [singing]
47:50is calling.
47:55And he walks
47:59with me. And [singing] he talks
48:05with me. He's walking in the room today.
48:08He tells [singing]
48:10me I am
48:13>> I'm his own
48:18and the joy
48:20we share
48:23as we tear [singing]
48:26there.
48:29None other
48:32has ever
48:34known. [singing]
48:39I'm not telling you what Jesus is going
48:42to do in your life.
48:45I'm telling you to experience it outside
48:47of just [music] my words.
48:49I want you to know he doesn't just want
48:52to resurrect so you can be saved. He
48:55wants to resurrect so you can meet him
48:58[music] in the garden. This alter call
49:01I'm about to give is not about fixing
49:03the garden of your life right now. It's
49:06about letting the gardener step into it.
49:10>> He already knows what's growing.
49:12>> He's not afraid of it. He's not going to
49:15abandon it. He will not abandon you.
49:20I welcome you to come to this altar
49:22today
49:24and let the gardener take [snorts] every
49:27corner of your life.
49:29Show you a love you never thought you
49:31could understand.
49:34He wants to [music] show you some
49:35things.
49:37You might say to him, "Lord, I don't
49:39want to walk down that
49:40[singing and music] alley of the garden.
49:41I don't want to go down that loss. I
49:43don't want to go down that bitterness."
49:44But he'll hold your hand. But he'll let
49:48you know. I want to show you what I've
49:50been pruning. I want to show you what
49:53I've been causing to grow in the middle
49:55of your devastating loss. I know
49:58Christmas can be a hard time for some.
50:01He wants to show you what he's
50:02[music and singing] been growing in the
50:03darkness. He wants to show you why he
50:05had to cut that out of [music] your
50:07life. He wants to show you why he asked
50:09you to put up the boundary. HE WANTS TO
50:11SHOW YOU WHY he's asking you to return
50:15from your wicked ways [music]
50:17to leave from the abomination of sin and
50:20grab hold of the promise of God.